The Jockeys

Training starts in June after GCSEs, with the flat race taking place at Newbury on 6 November 2025. Bella is learning to ride short and high while getting used to flying down a track, she’s terrified but excited! 

Dani grew up in Epsom and owned her first pony at seven years old, competing locally at horse shows and having weekly riding lessons.  

She moved to Berkshire aged 16, where she completed her NVQs at Haddon Training with Show Producers Richard and Marjorie Ramsay. Dani has since worked in a variety of different yards including riding schools, dealing/livery yards, dressage yards and at a flat racing yard. She currently sells horses & ponies at BRTC Horse and Pony Sales based at Blewbury Centre, while also competing dressage on her own horse. 

Being part of our Charity Race appeals to Dani because she shares our passion for horse welfare. 

Diane feels extremely lucky to have ridden in the Wetherby race for us last year. It was a massive journey, and she is so proud of what she achieved. Before that opportunity she’d never ridden a racehorse or done any level of fitness so learning both of those was an accomplishment. The sense of knowing she achieved a dream meant so much that she wanted to write another chapter! Hence riding again this year. 

A couple of her family members commented they had never seen her smile so much as she did on the Charity Race. Diane realised the positive impact horses can have on people's wellbeing and mental health. She says that if she can raise vital funds to help individuals or groups of people to feel this way when they are around horses, then all the challenging work is worth it. 

Diane continues to work as a full-time nurse in the NHS and makes the weekly 140-mile drive to ride out racehorses in Warwickshire. A hectic balance at times but so worth it! 

Racing is Donna’s passion. She started her racing life with the legendary A.J. Wilson before venturing to Lambourn where she worked for Jenny and Mark Pitman. She travelled the country with the horses she looked after. When Donna left Lambourn, she moved back to the Cotswolds working for local trainers.  

Unfortunately, she sustained an injury and horses became her hobby. She had a career change and started working for the NHS as a healthcare assistant. This is where the story begins and what inspired her to apply to ride in our 2025 Charity Race.  

Donna purchased a mare from Doncaster sales called Vinomore. She was placed and won two races, but her racing career was short-lived, and she was retired at eight years old. They took her to a stallion, Yourgunnabelucky, owned by Mr R Brookhouse. Vinamore’s first foal is called Onemorefortheroad, affectionately known as Frankie. He was born in Chadlington on a patch of land which was Donna’s late mother's paradise. Her mum, Sue, played a major part in her journey. She was particularly fond of Vinomore and became an anxious grandmother when she was close to her due dates.  

Donna set up a syndicate for Frankie as he showed promise in his first run when she trained him for a point-to-point bumper. Since the loss of Donna’s mum, who was her best friend, her go to for advice and babysitter for her 4-legged friends, it's given her the drive to achieve this goal to the best of her ability. Donna knows her mum will be looking down on them both, saying she must be mad!

This journey of success has been a big team effort. To be given this opportunity to ride Frankie in the race brings her great pleasure to give something back to us.

As a freelance coach and rider based in Surrey, Georgie has a lifelong passion for all things equine. She grew up in the Surrey Union Pony Club, earning her A Test in 2013, and she’s now a BHS Accredited Professional Coach.  

Alongside coaching, she loves producing and competing horses — having evented up to advanced with her legendary partner Coco and now showjumping up to 1.40m with her two self-produced horses, Hudson and Joey. She’s currently studying for a master's in veterinary physiotherapy and hopes to qualify this summer. 

She discovered her love for racehorses in 2023 after riding out for a local trainer in Epsom — she was instantly hooked! Georgie is excited to take on the challenge of her first charity race; pushing herself into new territory, which is very daunting, while raising funds for us. She’s proud to give back to a charity that gives so much.  

Jo is a BHSI based in Wiltshire. They’ve always been involved with horses from a young age, and they’re passionate about coaching, riding and developing both themselves and the riders they work with. 

Jo applied for the charity race after receiving an email from the F&I association asking for participants. Having felt in a rut after their dressage horse retired late last year, Jo was excited for the new challenge.  

Jo never expected to be selected and was both shocked and excited to find they’d been offered a place. Not only to master the art of riding a racehorse but also to be fit and lose some weight! 

Since starting their coaching journey at 16, they said we've made a huge impact. We focus on many elements, social licensing being one of them. This is very important to Jo as a coach and the future of the horse world, not just in the UK but across the world. 

Jo has no doubt this is going to be a very tough challenge for them, but they’re very much looking forward to the journey! 

Lucy is absolutely delighted to have been selected to ride in the BHS flat race at Newbury Racecourse on 6 November 2025.  

She rode as an amateur jockey for 17 years, riding approximately 70 winners between the flags and Welsh lady champion PTP jockey on three occasions. She hung up her racing boots in 2012 and now works on a construction site as a quantity surveyor.

She can’t wait to brush off the cobwebs for one more race and raise funds for us! 

As an avid horse lover, Lydia is delighted to be participating in the charity race at Newbury, as it’s a unique opportunity to raise funds for a meaningful cause. 

Being part of the racing industry has only deepened her love for the sport, and it would be a dream come true to ride in a race. As a new mum to a baby boy, Lucy realises that opportunities for race riding may become limited, making this event a perfect chance to fulfil her dream and check an important aspiration off her list. 

Growing up in a small rural village in South Wales with a non-horsey family, David was lucky enough to be surrounded by horses all over the village. Once he’d mastered staying on a pony, he was desperate to go ride out for a local man who kept half a dozen pointers on the farm at the top the lane. 

Despite only ever riding thoroughbreds to retrain them, when the opportunity came to take part in the BHS Charity Race, David jumped at it. 

He’s incredibly excited to be doing it and is passionate about helping raise money for us as we have given him the qualifications and skills to make a career in the equestrian industry.  

Eleanor is a trainee solicitor based in Newmarket. She rides out in Newmarket each morning, before heading to her office job at Edmondson Hall Sports Lawyers and Solicitors. They specialise in equine and bloodstock law, as well as being a full-service law firm. 

She also produces her own young horses to event and compete in working hunter pony classes. 
 
Eleanor is looking forward to the physical challenge of riding on a racecourse and the chance to raise money us, a charity which her grandmother worked for, for over 30 years. The opportunity to be involved in the industry she works in will help her to better understand her client's needs and develop her skills. 

Originally from the Highlands of Scotland, Erin, 26, now lives in Perthshire. She’s a mechanical engineer working in the water industry and she owns two lovely horses.  

She loves horseracing; there’s something about watching a thoroughbred horse gallop clear of the rest and the elation of a winning jockey that gives her goosebumps. 

A few years ago, at 22 years old, she was diagnosed with acute Crohn’s disease which became life threatening within three weeks. When she went through her first surgery, the surgeons thought she had only days left to live without the intervention.  

Since recovering and getting back to normal, Erin wants to take every opportunity she can. She can’t wait to feel that elation of riding in a race and crossing the finish line. 

Karen has loved horses since she was a child, she had a 13.1hh pony called Silver Slipper in her teens who was her soulmate. She had a gap in riding whilst she studied and built a career in recruitment. 

She’s passionate about social purpose and charity and has been a keen fundraiser from the age of 12, mainly raising funds from physical challenges for various charities over the years. She owns two ex-racehorses, one is now 25 and fully retired and the other, Willis, has just turned 18. She regularly goes out with Willis on hunter trials, beach rides, arena eventing and team chasing.  

Karen always wanted to be a jockey, and now, taking part in our 2025 Charity Race will fulfil a childhood dream. It’ll be a real National Velvet moment for her— and a great bucket list for her 50th birthday this year. 

Paula first discovered her love for horses at the age of four, sharing a pony with four other children. Although her parents couldn’t afford formal lessons, they made the most of every moment, riding out for hours with her mum calling instructions from the sidelines. Paula later joined a local riding club, which sparked a passion for eventing that led her to compete in British Eventing — something she still enjoys today. 

Outside the saddle, Paula works full-time as a primary school teacher. She’s incredibly proud to be supporting our Changing Lives through Horses programme through this challenge. Our initiative, which helps improve the lives of disengaged young people, is very close to her heart, and she knows the fundraising will make a real difference. 

Secretly, she always dreamed of being a jockey when she was younger, so this charity race feels like a dream come true. Paula is excited to take part, embrace the thrill of riding in a whole new way and support such an important cause. 

Steven is a recovering addict 10 years clean with help from horses. Horses saved his life. He grew up on a council estate in Newcastle where at a young age, he fell deep into addiction. He always had a childhood dream of working with horses. Even through his darkest times he still held on to that dream.  

He suffered a serious head injury which left him on life support for a couple of months. Steven had to learn how to walk and talk again.  

After the heartbreaking loss of his best friend, Steven decided he needed to change. He moved to Sheffield and signed into a rehab clinic to get clean.  

After rehab he volunteered as a paddock cleaner for a herd of Quarter Horses. This was his chance to live his childhood dream. A local saw his enthusiasm and commitment for horses and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime to learn about horses and riding at their yard. He’d had no previous experience working with horses until he came to Sheffield. Now, he rides eventing horses and racehorses.   

Steven wants to spread the message to the youth that there are different routes to take in life rather than addiction. He wants to help as many disadvantaged kids and people as possible and inspire them to always follow their dreams no matter how hard things get.